Kidnapper Series One-Shots: Natsu's POV
by hopelessswriter
Summary: A collection of moments from the Kidnapper series from Natsu's point of view. His thoughts on meeting rich girl Lucy Heartfilia, high school drama queens, and fights.
1. Kidnapper: What's Your Name?

The girl rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to tell me your name?" He must have looked beyond confused, because she sighed and rolled her big brown eyes. "You kidnap me and walk me home, but you won't tell me your name?" She held his gaze as he stared at her some more. This was the first sober human he had talked to in years besides the pub's owner, Don, and he didn't want to send her running for the hills when she found out what he was.

But for some reason, his normally strong resolve crumbled at her innocent, expectant stare. _'Oh well,'_ he thought, resigned to what was about to happen. _'We talked a bit, I guess._ ' "They call me Salamander at the fights. Happy?" He didn't even wait before turning around to leave. He didn't want to see the horror fill her eyes, didn't want to watch as her face contorted into a scream for help, for someone to come _get him away from her_.

So when he felt her small hand grip his arm again, he was both confused and annoyed. _'What, does she want me to wait for the cops to show up?'_ He grit his teeth as he tried to be patient, which was a new experience for him. It was taking everything he had not to throw her to the ground and bolt.

But when he looked at her, she didn't seem afraid of him. If anything, _she_ seemed scary, and maybe even a bit annoyed. "That's not what I asked." Her voice sounded like she was talking to a child, which grated on his nerves just a bit. "What's your _name_? Because I don't go to the fights, so I can't call you Salamander."

He began to feel sorry; he felt like all he had done was stare at this girl throughout their entire interaction. She was the most baffling person he had ever met. _'If this is what sober people are like, I am never leaving the pub again,'_ he swore. Coming with her was a mistake enough. Telling her what he was was even more dangerous. And telling her his actual _name_ …

His mind drew a blank, for two reasons. One was that he couldn't come up with a single reason that telling this girl his real name was a bad idea. The second, well…

What even was his name?

A raw feeling clawed its way up his throat at the realization. Had the Salamander consumed him? Was he really only a monster that lurked in the night, striking fear into everyone who had the misfortune to be around him? He remembered the drunk man that had told him the horror stories of the Salamander. " _They say he has no regard for his opponents; that he only adds them to his win tally and doesn't give them a second thought after victory."_ The man's unfocused eyes had been so full of fear that it made him lose control. He had left him in an alley, and…this was the first time he'd thought of him since. _'No,'_ he thought, and he finally recognized the feeling in his throat as panic, making his fingers start to twitch. _'I am not only the Salamander! I can't be, I'm—'_

"Natsu. My name is Natsu."

It came out so calmly, so simply, he doubted she had even noticed his inner mental breakdown. Even he was beginning to doubt himself. Had he truly—? No. He had forgotten his name. And yet, he realized that no one had called him Natsu since he had started fighting. They had been content to let him become mindlessly trained to come when they rang, and so had he. It made his blood boil, both in anger and shame.

The swish of bright blonde hair caught in his peripheral vision, and he cooled off. Now more than ever, he didn't want to scare away the one person who didn't seem to care one way or the other what he was; even if he suspected she merely didn't know about it. She met his eyes, smiling somewhat shyly and playing with a lock of hair so intricately that Natsu's fingers twitched again, but not to make a fist. Confusion rose in him again, but he brushed it off. She didn't even seem to realize she was twirling the strand around, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "Okay, then, thank you, Natsu, for kidnapping me and walking me home."

She spun on her heel and strutted off, leaving Natsu standing under the street lamp.


	2. Kidnapper: At the Pub Again

Shock ripped through him like a bullet when he saw her again, leaning against the wall of the pub and fiddling with the strap of her top. She looked bored and lost, like she was waiting for something. He allowed himself a minute to stare at her; he hadn't seen her in weeks. She was dressed in a simple tank top and mini skirt, her long blonde hair hanging in a ponytail down her back, the tip resting just above the curve of her waist.

After his brief inspection, he scanned the crowd instinctively. It had become a habit that made Don call him paranoid, but it didn't hurt. It kept the more dangerous fights from injuring any customers, and brought in revenue for the pub instead of attracting outside attention. But as he scanned the crowd, he noticed two of the shadier regulars, Joel and Marcus, eyeing the girl like a piece of meat. _'Oh hell no,'_ he thought.

He strolled up next to her and leaned on the wall, silent on his feet. It was one of the first techniques he'd been taught as a fighter. _"Listen, Salamander. If they hear you move, it's over. Stay low, stay quiet, and strike first."_ He shook his head to quiet the voice, before he started hearing all the other ones, too. Instead, he fixed a glare on the two older men, who were still staring at the girl with drunken lust. But when they noticed him, their eyes lost their sheen. It seemed they weren't so drunk as to realize that they couldn't beat him two-on-one if they were sober and he had downed a bottle of Scotch from the top shelf. They dropped their beers on the table and bolted into the crowd, who were watching the match that would determine the Salamander's next opponent.

He turned his eyes to look at the girl, who was watching the match with blatant disinterest and a tinge of concern. He followed her eyes to the kid in the ring, his bright green hair stark against the browns of the pub. He appeared to be losing, but the look in his eyes was too bright for Natsu to think it was from a lack of skill. His opponent, on the other hand, looked constipated with the amount of effort he was giving the fight. That three second glance was all it took for Natsu to figure out who would win.

"That guy sucks," Natsu decided, out loud. He smiled cheekily when the girl jumped. She spun to glare at him so fast he was impressed she didn't fall over from her momentum. She knocked her tiny fist against his shoulder, but Natsu barely felt it. His lips twitched as he tried not to laugh, eyeing the fist resting on his bicep. "So do you."

Her lips puckered in a childish pout before turning back to the ring. They both watched as the kid got hit in every place he left open. Natsu was impressed; the kid was drawing his opponent almost too easily. The girl, however, didn't notice. "You're right about that guy, at least. He can't land a single hit." Natsu raised an eyebrow, chuckling lowly. Just how unobservant was this girl? She raised her eyebrow at his amusement.

"No, not the kid," Natsu clarified, and she felt her piercing eyes without even looking back. He had figured her out somewhat, and she didn't seem to believe anything without proof. So he cut off her question by pointing to the ring, just as the kid threw his opponent out of the ring. He heard the girl's disbelieving question cut off as the cheers swelled at the fight's end. He heard her mumble something about high pain tolerance under her breath, and he laughed at the look on her face. He had never met someone like her. She was arrogant and stuck up, yet she was clueless where he was experienced. She looked beyond perplexed at the underdog victory.

"No way." He addressed her validation of the victory. For some reason he couldn't comprehend, he _needed_ her to understand this. To understand _him_. This wasn't just some delinquent hobby. "I think you punched me harder than that guy could've, and you're pretty weak." She pouted again, but he only laughed. Teasing her was fun, and he liked making her exasperated.

The referee cut off any further conversation as he called out, "Alright folks! Here's the fight you've all been drinking for!" Whoops and drunken laughter filled the air. "It's the punk vs. the one, the only…Salamander!"

It was like a switch had been activated. His heart rate sped up, and he felt his blood racing through every vein. He could feel his pulse in his fingertips, and felt every nerve ending ignite in anticipation. Natsu craved adreanline like the patrons craved alcohol, and this was the only high he could find. This rushing feeling, it was how the Salamander was born. Every punch fueled the fire he had inside, a fire that could only be extinguished by motion. He cracked his knuckles excitedly, feeling the Salamander rear his ugly head—

A hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks. He turned his head to see the blonde holding him back, looking slightly surprised herself. Her eyes were wide, and she was looking at him with bewilderment. He held her gaze as he waited for her to say whatever she wanted to, like _"Good luck"_ or something.

"You can't seriously be thinking of going out there." Her voice was higher than it had been a minute ago. "That guy crushed his wrist in one go! You'll get hurt!"

Natsu felt his brain short circuit at her words. _'Hurt?'_ It almost made him want to laugh at her. Sure, he got bruised and cut pretty bad sometimes, but he'd never been _hurt_. This kid might be good, but the Salamander was the best fighter anyone had seen in the last ten years. No one doubted his ability in a fight. Fighting was natural for him, like breathing was for others.

 _'But she doesn't know that.'_ She knew nothing about him, other than that that kid broke someone's wrist and now Natsu was going to fight him. And Natsu didn't fight very well. The Salamander did. And no one had ever worried about the Salamander. It was a foreign concept to him. The math didn't add up for Natsu, but Lucy didn't have all the facts.

His brain was starting to hurt with all of the thinking, so he gently pried her fingers off his arm. He saw the panic floating in her brown eyes, but he tried to look unassuming. Gentle. It was difficult, to say the least. "I'll be right back." He removed his shirt and tossed it onto the floor before slipping through the ropes with a practiced ease.

He heard the announcer droning on in the background, but he ignored him. He watched the kid opposite him, bouncing up and down like he had gotten his first 30-day sober patch. Natsu rocked on his heels, waiting for the bell. He pushed the blonde girl out of his immediate thoughts, allowing a small promise to show off just a bit for her. To help her understand. Nothing too Salamander, so she wouldn't get scared.

As soon as the bell rang, they both moved. _'He's fast,'_ he noticed. A fist was flying toward Natsu's jaw at an impressive speed, but the Salamander was faster. He was above the kid before it really registered with the rest of his brain, and he kicked the boy onto the floor. The punched from the previous fight seemed to be taking their effect after all, because the kid was swaying slightly after just one kick. _'Or maybe he's just shit,'_ Natsu thought, a bit disappointed. He'd been hoping for a workout.

The fight dragged on after the high wore off. The kid turned out to actually _be_ shit, and couldn't really do any damage. Some of the drunks were booing, but neither fighter paid them much attention. Natsu had learned a long time ago that they were impossible to please. So he fought to make himself happy. He loved when his brain took the backseat, and his body overtook his existence. He wasn't infamous, he wasn't a horror story to keep people in line. He was the Salamander in his purest form: a manic blur of motion, laughing like a psychopath. He was focused, powerful—

Without his consent, his vision flitted to where the girl was. He cursed at his lapse in concentration, until he saw that she was watching with wide eyes and clutching his T-shirt like it was a lifeline. _'She looks…scared.'_ Was she scared of him?

That thought brought his humanity back, repressing the Salamander. It was an odd sensation, as he never really came back until the final bell rang. He sighed and bent to grab the kid, who was laying face down on the mat. _'Oh well, it wasn't going to change the outcome anyways,'_ he thought, making peace with the fight's early end. He dangled the kid over the ring, eyeing his defeated opponent.

Just in time to see a look of concentration on his face.

 _'Yes,'_ he thought, and blocked the foot arcing toward his face. At least the fight would end with a bang. He felt it make contact with his forearm, and grimaced at the pain. He launched the kid out and into the wall at the far end of the pub.

He glowed as the cheers reached their climax, his pride swelling at the noise, but not as much as normal. Ignoring the oddity, he ducked out of the ring and resumed his previous position against the wall by the girl. She had a death grip on his shirt, but he managed to extract it and put it on by the time she regained her conversation skills. She looked stunned.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Had he gone too far? Was she scared of him now? Figured out what the Salamander really was?

She smiled thinly, and shook her head. "Sorry. I've never seen anything like that." She paused. "You guys…That was amazing." She looked like she had more to say on the topic, but she ultimately stayed quiet.

Natsu figured that he had probably overdone it, but tried to make her feel at ease. He beamed at her. "Thanks!"

For the rest of her time there, he told her about different things he had learned over the years from different people. She listened and laughed at certain points, and Natsu discovered that he really liked talking to her. _'What if it was like this all the time?'_ he wondered.


	3. Kidnapper: School Scene

Natsu was no stranger to whores. They frequented the pub, and always tried to get someone to leave with them. In fact, there were never less than three of them at any point in the day. One had even tried to pull Natsu in a back room a few months ago.

But he didn't think he'd see one at Lucy's high school.

The girl in front of him had almost no clothes on. Two straps of fabric covered her hips and chest, and the shoes she was wearing were the same ones the girls at the pub wore. She was _extremely_ close to Natsu's face, which made him twitchy. It was becoming harder and harder to restrain himself from decking her, but he really didn't want to start a scene at Lucy's school. She had told him that she didn't like too much attention on her, and after an explanation, he got the gist of it.

The girl drug a finger up his arm, lips curling in a way that made the itch grow. "So," she purred, voice too sweet for Natsu to feel comfortable. It was what some of the patrons called a "bedroom voice," but it had never had much of an effect on Natsu. It only made him more tense. "Are you free later?"

"No! For the four hundredth time!" Natsu shook her finger off and crossed his arms. "Go away!" Her smile dropped to reveal a nasty snarl, but Natsu only snarled right back. _'You can't punch her. You can't punch her. You can't punch her.'_ Natsu repeated, over and over again to himself. He heard his knuckles popping despite his efforts, and he began to think that coming to meet Lucy was a bad idea.

Fortunately for the whole crowd, Lucy chose to show up. Instantly all the tension fled from Natsu's body, and he gave her a smile. She looked both pleased and confused to see him. He grabbed her bag and followed her down the sidewalk, listening to her complain about something or other—

A hand on his arm had his fists clenched instantly. He turned around to see the girl with no clothes on pulling at his arm. Natsu felt jittery at the contact, from her nails scraping against his skin to her lotioned palms. "You can't ignore me!" she shrieked.

As a last ditch effort, Natsu looked at Lucy. The last thing he wanted to do was act out and start up the Salamander rumors again. Lucy might find out and…he wasn't going to think about that now.

The hand on his arm slid down, but Lucy smacked it off. Natsu let his hand slip into the blonde hair hanging near her waist and play with it as he watched the girl straighten her spine and glare at Lucy. Her lip curled back in an ugly snarl as she eyed Lucy. Natsu felt his hackles rise; if this girl tried to hurt Lucy, rumors be damned. He had no problem with hitting girls.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to talk to my boyfriend here," said the girl, glaring at Lucy liked she owed her something. Natsu scrunched up his face at the term; he was not this girl's friend. He had just met her, and didn't like what he'd met so far. He looked at Lucy, but she looked like she was trying not to bust out laughing, which only made him more confused.

"I'm sure you are," she responded, through a shit-eating grin. Her eyes flicked up to his, making him feel like he was missing out on a secret he should know. "Natsu, do you have anything to say?"

Natsu could only shake his head obediently as he lost grasp of the situation entirely. But Lucy nodded like everything was making perfect sense and turned back to the girl, who looked like a volcano ready to erupt. "You'll regret this, you nobody," she hissed, words full of venom. Natsu felt his guard go up again. "The whole school will know about this. I swear it."

 _'That's it. I tried, Luce, I really did; but now this girl's—'_

A weight pressing against his side stopped his thoughts in their tracks. Lucy was leaning against him like the conversation had drained her. He shifted to support her weight, but he didn't think either girl noticed. Lucy gave one last smartass comment before leading him away, and he could practically hear the whore overheating behind them.

All Natsu could think as Lucy leapt up on his back was that next time, he would take the back entrance.


	4. Kidnapper: Aftermath of Captain Fight

Natsu flailed uselessly as the man crushed his windpipe in his meaty fist. The whine of the sirens cut through the silence that accompanied a lack of spectators. His breaths were ragged as his opponent slowly applied more pressure, his laughter mixing with the wail of the sound that meant impending doom for Natsu. He could hear Don now, drilling rule number one into him: _"If that siren goes off, you run. You don't make friends, you don't mention names, you just don't get caught."_

 __This was the second time he was ignoring that rule, and for the same reason. He could easily let his Salamander instincts take over and leave this hulking moron a twitching mess, but he didn't want to leave Lucy here with him and the police. He had no doubt her father would clear up any charges against her, but he didn't want to put her through that. So he continued to flail as he tried to find a way out before he lost consciousness.

What he didn't expect was for Lucy to climb up into the ring. "Hey!" she screamed, and her voice cracked. "We don't have time for this! We have to get out of here. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get arrested, so put him down!" Her eyes were wide with terror. _'Is she…scared?'_ He recognized the expression; many of his opponents over the years as they climbed into the ring with him. But where their fearful expressions made him giddy, the fear in Lucy's face made him itchy with anger.

The muscles in the fingers around in his twitched, and Natsu readied himself. Consequences be damned, he wasn't going to put her through this. He never should have brought her into this life; never should have been so selfish as to think she could stay with him.

He never should have believed that the Salamander could be anything more than a monster.

An officer's voice cut through the fuzzy thoughts in Natsu's head. "Any people inside, please come outside in a calm and orderly fashion for detainment." The fingers twitched again, before Natsu was flying through the air. He felt his head thump against hard wood, making the fuzziness in his head worse. His throat felt soar and bruised, and he was struggling to get enough air to see straight.

Cool hands slipped under his arms and around his back, tugging until he was up and leaning on a small frame. He coughed at the movement, and he started massaging his throat to try and get it to work again. He looked down to see Lucy with a look of pure concentration on her face, and he would've laughed had he been able. She looked so—

Her face morphed into pained shock as she was yanked backward, and Natsu went down. He caught himself on his hands, Lucy's struggles igniting every nerve in his body for him to _do something_. She screamed something, desperate and angry.

Natsu pushed himself to stand, feeling like he was on fire. The bastard was dragging her by her hair, smug at his win. Pushing the feeling in his head aside, he shifted forward to test his balance. Step. Another step. His eyes never moved from Lucy, her eyes both calculating and trusting.

She twisted and turned, pointing out that no one had won the fight, and Natsu felt his brain switch gears. The fight was still going on, and here he was shuffling his feet like a newbie. He did _not_ lose, and he was not going to start now, especially with Lucy's life on the line. He watched that Captain get up in her face, and clenched his fist. The Salamander reared his ugly head, and Natsu gave in.

He saw Lucy start to plunge her heel in the man's torn wrist in slow motion, and figured he would help her. He did a quick overview before deciding snapping the elbow would be the most effective way to finish it. Mimicking Lucy, he aimed his bare heel at the bend of his elbow, the bone giving way with a satisfying crunch. The arm spasmed at the combined attack, sending Lucy flying across the room to collide with a chair. The Captain roared in pain, falling to the floor with his face frozen in a scream.

The cops, having heard the combined pained screams, burst in through the door. Natsu wasted no time in rushing to grab Lucy and running out through the back. He wove through the streets he'd been running his whole life, but this was the first time he had a destination in mind. In the past, he only wanted to protect himself. But tonight, he was running to the one place he knew she'd be okay.

He was panicky by the time they'd reached her front door. Lucy was completely limp in his arms, and her breathing sounded not unlike his from half an hour earlier. He kicked the door a few times as a knock, hoping someone would be awake to open it at this late hour. He didn't want to break in unless he absolutely had to.

Luckily, a small old woman opened the door with wide eyes. Her wrinkly face took in the bloody Natsu holding the precious heiress in his arms, but didn't do anything other than stare. Natsu locked his jaw and shoved past her, knowing Lucy didn't have the time for him to stand around with that grandma. His bare feet slapped against the cold marble as he hurried up the stairs, knowing Lucy's room was somewhere on the third floor by a tree. The little woman hovered behind him, saying things like doctors and hospitals and police. Natsu ignored her and pushed open the door to Lucy's room.

She really needed a smaller house, but he'd table that conversation for later.

"Young man!" The old woman yelled. Natsu laid Lucy down gently before turning around to face her. He recoiled a bit at how angry she looked, and felt his muscles tense in case she tried to attack him. Which was absurd, because she couldn't be three feet tall.

"Who are you? What happened to Miss Lucy? Do you need help? Where has she been? Who did this—?"

Natsu growled at all the questions, and the little woman quieted immediately. The headache from the fight was coming back, and the last thing he wanted was for the police or doctors to come an examine him. "Look, Granny. She needs help, and fast. Have them look at her back. I'll come back when she's feeling better." He turned back around and gave Lucy one last look. Her face was still contorted in pain from the impact, and he felt something shrivel inside him.

Without another look at either her or the woman, he ran and leapt out the window, figuring a bottle of whiskey would make everything right itself.


	5. Kidnapper: Injuries Pt 1

Natsu blinked his eyes open. The familiar throbbing of a hangover made him realize that he'd probably been out of it for a few days. He laid in his bed, waiting for it to pass and ignoring the sense of urgency he felt. There was something important that needed his immediate attention, but he couldn't remember. _'It can't have been that important,'_ he thought to himself, returning his energy to repressing his headache.

After maybe an hour of laying in the dark, he stumbled to the door of his room and down the hallway. The pub was alive with the sounds of drunkards and a fight, the smell of blood and beer lingering in the air. That meant it was night. Natsu took a deep breath and looked around for Don, his childhood mentor.

He was behind the bar, as always, and looked like he was on the edge of a nasty bar fight. His pudgy face shone with nervous sweat as the two giants in front of him, one seat apart, glared daggers at each other. Natsu sighed; the old man never knew when to stop pouring, for himself or customers. He shuffled over to the seat in the middle, plopping down between the two. While they stared at him in surprise, Natsu made a quick plan of attack.

 _'If it comes to that,'_ a little voice in his head said, taking him by surprise. The sense of urgency came back again, but he ignored it again when the man on his right spoke. "Hey runt, who're you? Here to play wit the big boys?" His words slurred together into one long word, making him sound like an idiot, and the sound of a girl laughing came to his mind. It sounded familiar.

Deciding that the urgent matter needed his immediate attention, Natsu figured he'd finish these two quickly. He cracked his knuckles loudly and turned to Don, completely disregarding the man's question. "Fire whiskey. Shot glass, no mug." Don nodded, turning his back completely to the bar. Natsu smirked; it was Don's signal. The fight was a go.

Neither man seemed to notice all the eyes on them bar. But the man grabbing seemed to hear the whispers of "Salamander" floating through the crowd, and Natsu saw the realization flicker through his face. "You—You're that monster. The one they whisper about in the—"

Natsu grabbed the hand on his shoulder and twisted it, the body behind the hand arching to follow the movement. He tossed him up and landed a kick to his upper torso, sending him flying through a path in the crowd to hit the back wall. Natsu sat down just as Don slid him his drink, which Natsu threw back with a glance to the man on the left.

He looked like he'd wet his pants. His eyes were wide with horror and worry.

"Salamander!" The crowd chanted. The man Natsu had thrown across the room ran out of the door without a second glance. The man still at the bar tried to do the same, but Natsu clamped his hand on his shoulder.

"You ain't gonna leave without paying, are ya?" Natsu bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile, but both he and his victim knew it wasn't. The man threw down a stack of bills and bolted, leaving Don to cackle and count the two hundred he'd left behind.

Natsu took a deep breath to try and rein himself back in. But the word "monster" still rang in his ears.

"I'm tellin' you, kid, you're the best business investment I'd ever had!" He tucked the cash in his shoe and started cleaning a glass with a bloody rag. Natsu rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers on the bar.

"Don, what's today?" It wasn't uncommon for Natsu to lose track of the days, between fights and drunk stupors to help him heal. He was apparently still in one, because the feeling that he'd forgotten something made his skin feel ignited. Maybe knowing the day would help him remember.

"Saturday, kid."

Natsu hummed; that didn't help. "When was my last fight?"

Don's cleaning rag stilled, and his eyes cut to Natsu. "You don't remember?" Natsu shook his head. He was sure he'd won, because his name was still a crowd favorite. And he was always sure to keep it that way.

Don put his glass down, and Natsu shifted uncomfortably. "Salamander," Don said, and Natsu knew something was wrong. Had he lost? "Kid, it was bad. We all thought you were going out for the count, but then the fuzz came. Me and everyone else scrammed, but you stayed behind with that girl of yours in the—"

Natsu stood up so fast the stool he was sitting on flew into a passing patron, who fell over and fell asleep. A rush of memories came back: sirens wailing, his windpipe being crushed by twitching fingers, and the splintering of wood as a body crashed into it.

Her body.

"Lucy," he whispered, before grabbing the front of Don's shirt and yanking him across the bar. "Where is she?" he yelled, and he saw fear creep into Don's eyes. A younger Natsu would've shriveled at the fact that his guardian was scared of him, but it was a fact he had long been used to. Don knew as well as everyone what he was capable of.

"She—She wasn't with you when you came back. You were out of it, hurt real bad, so you drank and went to your room."

Natsu grit his teeth, trying not to throw someone else across the room. He needed to find Lucy. "She hasn't come in since I've been out?"

Don shook his head frantically, but Natsu knew he wouldn't know if she had walked in if she had been wearing a sign with her name on it. Natsu pushed him back behind the bar and ran out, the crowd parting for him like water. 


	6. Kidnapper: Injuries Pt 2

Natsu scaled the wall under her room like he had so many times before. A pair of cops were snoozing in a car by her gate, which was confusing but not Natsu's problem. He hung underneath the window for a minute, trying to see if she was alone. He had popped in once when a maid was cleaning her room, and he had scared her so bad Lucy told him she'd had to go to the other end of the house.

But the only sounds he heard was the sound of pen on paper, which meant she was writing. The familiar curiosity burned to know what she was writing about, but she hid it too well for him to find it when she wasn't paying attention. He reached up and knocked, two sharp taps that would let her know it was him.

He hung for a minute more before the window swung open. He pulled himself through without a sound. He swayed as he stood up, the whiskey finally taking its effects and clearing his head. _'Bless that fire whiskey,'_ Natsu thought. He always took it before a fight to clear his hangovers, and it was just enough to where he didn't get drunk. And the more focused he was, the better for Lucy.

When he turned to her, he immediately checked her for injuries. It made his blood boil to have to check her of all people, but he felt his lips quirk at the shirt she was wearing. Don had gotten it for him as a joke: a red T-shirt with a giant salamander curling around the front. He had been wondering where that shirt had gone.

He went to say just that, but she beat him to it. "You idiot!" She launched herself at him, and it took Natsu half a second to wrap his arms around him. He felt a warm stain on his chest, and he squeezed her a little tighter. He played with her hair as an attempt of comfort, but he was in uncharted territory. The drunks at the pub weren't exactly there because of their skills with the opposite sex.

As she kept crying, Natsu realized how worried he'd been. She could've been hospitalized for what he'd let happen. All because he wanted to keep her with him. The man from the bar came back to him: _"You're that monster."_ His arms tightened around her again, before he realized they didn't have the right to.

He pulled back slowly, leading her back to her bed. She'd most likely be more comfortable there than standing up. She started to follow, before her puffy eyes widened and she shushed him. He quirked an eyebrow but crouched behind her door as she talked to someone outside.

"Hey," she said kindly, and Natsu wondered who was in the hall. "I'm gonna take a soak in my tub, so could you keep everyone out for a while? I'll knock on the door as soon as I'm out, promise." Her voice was the same voice she used when she tried to lower prices at the drug store. He caught her eyes and acted like he was going to hurl, which resulted in him getting kicked in the collarbone. It didn't hurt in the slightest, but he wallered around for her sake. She slammed the door and walked toward where her first aid kit was, with him following close behind.

He watched as she lugged out the deceptively dainty bag, and a flash of white caught in his vision. His eyes drifted down her back to a hole in her T-shirt, and he felt his heart stop at the gauze poking through. From the way the shirt was shifting, it had been wrapped pretty thinly, but gauze meant damage, and damage meant pain.

"What are you…Oh." Her voice lilted nervously. "I'm fine, just a little…" Her voice trailed off as he reached to peel back the gauze. He could feel how tense she was, which only made him more worried.

What he saw horrified him. Natsu had been fighting for almost eleven years, and he had had to train for five years to give damage this severe. Bruises of every color branched from an uneven red cut curling down her back. He let out a breath to calm himself down as he rewrapped the gauze and pulled her to him. He rested his head on her shoulder, hearing her pulse beat reassuringly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, playing with her thin fingers with his scarred ones. She chuckled under her breath slightly. "Don't worry about me. You didn't do anything—"

He growled at the reminder and tightened his hold on her. "I know." The weakness in his muscles, the lack of air, it all came back to him and bolstered his shame. "I didn't, I _couldn't_ , do anything, and you got hurt." Her pained scream came back to him, and he shuddered. "You were never supposed to get hurt," he whispered.

The picture of her back was burned into his brain, and it was all he could think about as Lucy updated him on what had been going on since he'd been drunk. Not that she knew that. He tried to weave her hair into the weird rope thing she had worn months ago, and he thought he was getting closer. But his fingers froze when he clued into what she was saying.

"…couldn't have been my own doing. And since you're the only one they know I've been around who isn't under the Heartfilia's scrutiny," she rolled her eyes and tightened the gauze in what he knew was annoyance, "well, they suspect you."

He felt his jaw work. "They think… that I was the one that…" His brain failed to grasp the possibility. Him hurting Lucy was—

Not impossible. He'd had the lingering fear for years that, if he was angry or drunk enough, he wouldn't completely be in control. It wasn't unfounded, it had happened before. He had broken Don's arm in a fit of rage at fourteen, and concussed four grown men alongside him. Don had gone to the hospital, where he told Natsu he'd talked to the fuzz. And if the police had the ability to make the connection, that could be why they suspected him.

In other words, if they suspected he was the Salamander, they would think that he had been the one to hurt Lucy.

But did Lucy know?

From the way she was treating him, still giving him worried looks and wrapping his arms, he suspected not. No one would treat him like she did if they knew what he was. So he bottled up those thoughts and enjoyed simply being with her.

Because he knew now that their time together was ticking away.


	7. Manhunt: The Return of the Salamander

Natsu groaned as the door to his room thudded. "Come on, kid! Fight in five!"

"Ah, shit," Natsu mumbled. He pushed himself off the mattress and stumbled to the door, figuring a few shots would help clear his head. He sunk into a seat next to a few regulars that weren't as scared of him as other patrons and signaled Don for his fire whiskey.

"How many you want, kid?" Don asked, wiping down the counter in front of him. Natsu looked up at the ring, barely glancing at his opponent. It was an older man, shirtless and stumbling drunk. A pretty blonde hung off his arm, whispering something in his ear that made him laugh. He looked happy.

Natsu scowled. "Seven."

Don raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Salamander. You tryna fall back into your old habits?" Natsu flicked his gaze to Don, who immediately scurried to the other side of the bar to mix his drinks. A small, familiar part of him shriveled at the fear in Don's eyes, but he couldn't find it in himself to truly care anymore. As long as one person wasn't afraid of him, he didn't care about anyone else.

The clink of glasses brought him out of his thoughts. Red-brown liquor stared up at him from the counter, and he caught his reflection on the table. If he downed all seven, he knew he might cause some serious damage. Like Don said, he'd be falling back into old habits. And if Lucy came back…

Natsu clenched his jaw. She hadn't come back yet, and he had no reason to think she would today. It would be good for him to blow off some steam now, anyways, before she came back. He downed the seventh one just as Don rang the bell for the show to start. Natsu stood up, laughing a bit as he stumbled. _'I forgot how quickly it worked.'_

Don's voice became a steady drone in his ears as he shuffled up into the ring. He stared down the man across from him, feeling his muscles relax and his heart rate pulse throughout his entire body. His opponent, who Don announced as Chip the Ripped, was flexing his muscles and winking at the crowd. Natsu popped his knuckle at the ridiculous display. _'It's not as if it'll do him any good,'_ a voice whispered in Natsu's head. His lips twitched; the Salamander was back.

The bell rang, and Natsu was flying forward before he could process it. His fist smashed into Chip's jaw before he could even try to block, sending the man toppling to ground. Natsu jumped back to his corner, and watched as Chip struggled to stand. As he swayed, Natsu jumped back and forth on the balls of his feet. He felt light as a feather. It had been months since he'd felt like this. He didn't have to worry about holding back, or impressing anyone. When Lucy was there, he always wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible, to go back to her.

But she wasn't here. So the Salamander could play.

As he dragged the fight on, he felt the effects of his whiskey more and more. Every hit made his head fuzzier, every block his laughter louder. The fear that was ever present in his opponents' eyes shone in Chip's like flashlights, and Natsu relished in it. As he dealt the finishing blow, and the crowd roared, he allowed himself to be the Salamander, back in his element.

He looked to Don, who was pointedly avoiding eye contact. "Good job, Salamander." His doughy face was full of fearful respect, the closest thing to pride Natsu had ever known. "You came back, even with your girl here. I'm impressed."

At those words, Natsu's pride hit a dead end. He knew he should feel something about Lucy's being here, but he couldn't remember what it was. An itch spread over his skin, making his skin burn.

When he found her, her back was to the ring as she talked to some new guy. He felt his muscles bunch up at the sight of this stranger: who was he, and why did Lucy know him? He glanced at her again, and saw she had cleared the table next to her, conveniently just outside the ring. He frowned; she needed his help.

He stepped over his twitching opponent and vaulted over the ropes to land on the table top. He fisted his hand in her hair, sizing up the stranger. He was obviously new, with beer stains sloshed over him and lip smears over his face. He looked beyond angry, and Natsu didn't like how he was looking at Lucy like that.

His taunt at Lucy's blending in at the pub registered at that moment. "Yeah, well," he slurred, stretching his fingers. "Knowing me gives you some kind of status 'round here." He sized him up again, making sure he noticed. "Who're you?" Lucy's hands snaked around his arm, and he felt her tensing against him. His eyes flickered to her, and he felt his temper boil over. His vision swam as he turned back to Lucy's problem. What had he done?

The guy kept his stare, so Natsu tried again. "I said, who are you?" He pushed up off the table and walked over to him, getting as close as he could without actually making contact. He heard his name start to float around the crowd, echoes of "Salamander" pushing him closer and closer to snapping. The itch to fight was growing.

The idiot in front of him finally decided to speak. "You—You're the Salamander?" Natsu growled, his fear making his temper flare even more.

"Yeah, so what? Who. Are. You?" Natsu shifted his footing, and the guy swallowed. The itch was almost unbearable now; the Salamander wanted to be let out again. And depending on this guy's response, Natsu was going to let him out.

"I'm…Jacob Cobeson. I was assigned to guard Lucy Heartfilia from…you."

Natsu blinked at those words, taking a step back in surprise. He knew that name, Cobeson. He tried to remember, but the name wasn't coming to the surface. He only knew that it was not a good name. Then the second part of Cobeson's answer registered, and felt his blood freeze. Guard Lucy? From _him_? His gaze flickered back to her for a split second before turning back. As if this weak boy could stand up to the _Salamander_. Natsu's knuckles popped, finally ready to put this nobody in his place. He didn't get to walk onto the Salamander's turf with—

"Natsu?" Her voice was only a whisper among the cheers of the crowd, but it brought him back down from the angry high. He let go a breath; he had almost sent her running. He gave Cobeson one more look before he was suddenly with Lucy, his vision blurry and head pounding. _'Seven was a bad idea.'_ He could still feel his temper raging against his flimsy control. Lucy was talking to him, but he couldn't hear her over the roar of his blood in his ears. He needed to get back to his room, before he did something he would regret—

His face collided with the hard wooden floorboards. He groaned and rolled over, two Cobesons standing over him. Natsu felt the room shrink, his vision narrowing to only the fresh meat standing over him. If the newbie wanted a fight, he'd get the fight of his lifetime. Natsu clambered up to his feet and into the ring. "If we're doing this, we're getting in the ring. Let's go, Pretty Boy."

Natsu threw his shirt to the side as he waited. There was no sound except his and Cobeson's breathing. He threw a signal to Don at the bell station, and watched as the fresh meat moved as slowly as he could. But it wouldn't deter the Salamander. Natsu could see nothing aside from Cobeson, hear nothing but the pounding of his head.

After an eternity, the bell rang, and Natsu flew forward. He punched Cobeson clear out of the ring, and the bell rang for victory. But the Salamander wasn't done, not by a long shot. He couldn't remember what he'd done, but this opponent deserved than just one punch. His vision blacked out, and the next thing he knew Natsu was standing over Cobeson. He grabbed him and hauled him to his feet, readying his fist for the finishing blow that would leave him out of the count for—

"Natsu! Stop!"

Natsu froze, his fist hovering just above Cobeson's jaw. He looked up, seeing the patrons standing above him with horror in their eyes. _'Wait, why are they in the ring?'_ Natsu looked around some more, and saw that, instead of ropes and blood stains, he was surrounded by tables and people. People who were shaking at his proximity.

A soft pressure pushed his fist down, and Cobeson was tugged out of his loosened grip. After a minute, he stood and looked at Cobeson, supported by a blonde girl that was looking at him in awe. Natsu felt something breaking inside him, the look she was giving him like so many others. Asking the same question.

 _"What are you?"_


	8. Manhunt: Story of the Salamander

A loud knock woke Natsu, and he groaned. The effects of his hangover came all out; splitting headaches and overall soreness that he hadn't felt for… months. He forgot how much it sucked.

The knocking came again, and he cursed under his breath. Only one person had ever had the decency to knock. He pushed himself off the mattress dizzily, staying on his feet just long enough to grab the door handle and begin to pull before falling back onto the mattress. Light from the hall flooded into the dark room, and he groaned again as he threw his forearm over his eyes to block it out. He ignored how the pressure hurt both his eyes and his bruised skin. Lucy would have a fit if she heard him complaining…

Memories of his drunken episode began to return at the thought of her, and he sighed. _'She won't care at all anymore,'_ he realized, the horror in her face blazing in his memory. He was impressed she was even here. That look, so familiar to him, made his chest ache to remember it on her face. He could handle it from the patrons, that stranger she brought with her; hell, he could even take it from Don.

But he'd never wanted to see it on her.

His mattress dipped as a weight settled next to him. Dim light bloomed from the cover of his arm. He figured she'd turned on the lamp, which almost made him groan again. He'd only been awake for five minutes, and he already to function like a normal person. An unwelcome lick of anger lit inside him, a remnant of the fights from what he figured were only hours ago. It was the only way he would feel this terrible so soon after waking up. He wished Don would bring him a glass of fire whiskey like he would when Natsu was younger, or when he wasn't afraid of him.

Natsu was pulled out of his thoughts by the silence in his room. It was hardly ever silent, especially when he was with Lucy. They were always talking; yet here they were, the silence deafening. He realized that he'd been hoping she would storm into his room and be angry, demanding explanations he didn't want to give. Her patience was frustrating.

"Hey," he said tightly, trying to keep his unreasonable irritation under wraps. His fingers twitched, and he felt a spark of panic. He couldn't afford to lose control in this half-drunken state. He reached for her hair to give them something productive to do, but the spark grew when he found the waistband of her jeans instead. "You didn't cut it off, did you?" A bit of his panic leaked into his calm facade.

She had the audacity to laugh under her breath. "No." She took a deep breath, and Natsu knew, with perfect clarity, that his biggest fear was going to happen, after all these months. She was going to tell him that she finally realized what a monster he truly was, and that she had made a mistake. She was going to tell him how she didn't feel safe to be near him, and that —

"Natsu, what's wrong?"

Her voice cut through his fear, and it was so full of concern that Natsu was floored. All of his irritation drained away, and he moved his arm to stare at her in awe. _'What the hell did I do to deserve her?'_ Natsu tried to think, but all he could see were bruises and blood. And here she sat, big brown eyes full of wary concern, framed in a literal halo by his lamp.

Her eyes became irritated then, and he realized he'd been quiet for a bit too long. She glared at him, and he figured he'd better react before she smacked him. It wouldn't hurt, but he didn't want her to hit his head and worsen his headache. He grimaced as he pushed himself up, poking her arm gently to let her know he'd heard her. His lips twitched at her offended pout.

"Natsu, seriously." Her voice was low. "I'm worried about you. What happened earlier…" Her voice faded away, and he winced. He tried not to think about what would have happened if she hadn't stopped him, how she wouldn't be here, but instead in her room with that jackass Cobeson comforting her. Suddenly, the trust in her eyes became to much to bear, and he looked away. He had been one second away from shattering it.

"Answer her, Salamander." Natsu's eyes jumped to the corner of his room, where Cobeson stood. Natsu sized him up in a second, seeing how his nonchalance was a weak attempt to disguise the tension in every line of his body. Still, he kept talking. "Tell her what you and I both know." _'Never,'_ Natsu almost answered. "Tell her how you were more yourself today than you've been the last six—"

"Stop, Jacob!" Lucy shrieked, effectively preventing Natsu from leaping off the bed and shoving Cobeson's face through the back wall. _'Jacob?'_ he thought, the name making his chest burn uncomfortably. Why were they so close, if she had wanted his help dealing with him? "I told you could come if you would be quiet." Natsu was pleased to see him shift at her disapproval. "Now shush!"

He snickered under his breath until Cobeson's next words. "It's not like you can actually leave me behind, _Ms. Heartfilia._ " Natsu didn't miss Lucy's flinch at the title, and Natsu made up his mind. This asshole was going to—

A cool touch on his arm halted all thought. He let go of his anger, as her fingers pressed on a fresh bruise, and it took all the focus Natsu had not to make a noise. She would whip out that blasted liquid that stung like a bitch…

 _'Shit,'_ he groaned, the dreaded brown bottle resting by his knee like it had appeared out of thin air. Soon, bandages and other things he was used to seeing now joined it, and he watched in fascination at how quickly Lucy cleaned and wrapped his arms. She had gotten much better since the first time when she had wrapped them in a back alley.

All too soon, she finished and put away her supplies, and Natsu was proud that he had only sworn twenty-eight times when she used the stuff in the brown bottle. It was a new record.

"Okay, stop sulking." Before he knew what was happening, Lucy's face was directly in front of his, her hands trapping his head in place. He swallowed as she held his eyes with her gaze. "I'm here for answers, Natsu." Her breath was warm against his. "I…You really scared me earlier. What's wrong?"

Natsu's heart clenched at those words; the only ones he never wanted her to say. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers in an attempt to comfort her and still his pounding heart. "Sorry, Luce. Really. I got a little drunk and wasn't thinking very clearly." It was the understatement of the year, but he could burn in hell for it later. "I fell back into old habits." He thought back to the horror in her eyes when she saw just what those habits were, and sighed. "Now I'm paying for it, apparently," he said quietly, hoping his trembling voice wasn't obvious.

"What do you mean by old habits?" Lucy asked timidly, and Natsu swore in his head. He had hoped she would accept his apology and drop it, but she seemed keen on getting her answers. He could see it all: he would tell her everything she wanted to know, and it would all end with her tripping over herself trying to get out the door. The police would come, and shut everything down. Everything he had fought to protect for Don, everything that made him just a little bit human, would be gone.

He met her curious gaze with as much sobriety as he could muster. "Promise you won't leave." _'Don't leave the pub. Don't leave to get the fuzz. Don't leave me.'_

Her eyebrows drew together, like the thought of her leaving was preposterous. "What?"

"Promise you won't leave." Another thought occurred to him, and he nodded over at Cobeson. "And if you could get him to leave, that would be great." He didn't trust that guy just as much as he trusted Lucy. He had an agenda, and Natsu knew it had something to do with him. Lucy looked over her shoulder and they had a little stare off, before Cobeson huffed and stalked outside. As soon as the door shut, it creaked with Cobeson's weight as he leaned against. Natsu rolled his eyes at the weak attempt at a power move. There was more than one way out of this room.

Lucy, however, turned around with a bright smile at her success. "There, two birds with one stone. He's gone and I _can't_ leave." Natsu raised an eyebrow at her. _'Great, Luce, now instead of running to freedom you can feel like a caged animal. Fantastic.'_ Natsu pushed the sarcastic voice away and watched Lucy crawl her way over to him. She rested her head in his lap, and his fingers immediately tangled into the horrendous pile of hair on her head. Braids looked much better in her hair, he decided.

She looked up at him expectantly, and Natsu knew that he couldn't avoid it any longer. He stared at her face, taking one last look before it disappeared forever. "Did you ever hear rumors about the Salamander?" he asked, already knowing the answer. The last five months would never have happened if she had. After she shook his head, he let out a breath. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

So he told her as much as he could think of; how he had grown up with Don and the other drunkards, never meeting kids his age, or kids at all, really. How he'd climbed to the top of the food chain and made a name for himself. He told her how he felt like nothing could ever hurt him, and how it took years for everyone's fear to affect him. He told her how he became a monster, a name to be whispered in the shadows of the pub lest they catch his attention. He tried to keep it light, but he knew it wasn't working from the sadness lurking in her features.

When he finally finished, she bit her lip and looked up at him. "Natsu, you said something about the end of the Salamander." Natsu's brain ground to a halt. Did he? "And you haven't been anything like that since I met you…?" She trailed off, but he knew what she was getting at. He sighed, trying to figure out how to word what he needed to say.

After a beat, he answered. "Well, excuse my wording, but…you killed the Salamander, Luce," he explained carefully. He thought back to when he had first seen her, standing in the middle of the pub's chaos like a ditz. He had dragged her out and away from any possible cop, ensuring that she would keep her mouth shut. His legacy wasn't going to end because of some idiot. But then, when he had been on his merry way, she grabbed his arm like he _wasn't_ the most dangerous person in Hargeon and made him walk with her for nearly an hour.

Then she had asked for his name. A name that he had thought had been lost forever. After all, no one was brave enough to name the Boogey Man, or other terrors that haunted people's thoughts. But she was, and she had. And now he was tied to her, hopelessly, because she was the first one to have ever cared.


	9. Manhunt: The Arrest

The faint creak of wood caught Natsu's attention. He'd been awake for some time, Lucy's head resting on his shoulder while she slept peacefully. She didn't seem to be in any pain from her back, which calmed his nerves more than he thought it would have. He still worried, after all these months. And he was perfectly content to wait for her to wake up, as he was trying to see where she could have hidden those secret letters he always caught her writing.

The sound came again, and he turned to see that boy standing in her doorway… the Cobeson bastard. Jake, or something. Natsu didn't care enough to try to remember any more than that. Jake looked angry about something, his arms crossed and glare murderous. Natsu smirked at his expression; he looked like a man who had found his wife in Don's pub. According to Don, they didn't want their wives to be in there. Natsu didn't understand why; he loved when Lucy came by.

"What're you lookin' at?" Natsu asked after a full minute of silence. He didn't do the patience thing like Lucy did. "You gotta problem rich boy?"

Jake scoffed, his arms falling to his side. But Natsu caught him take a small step back out of the door. "Yes, I do. You're in the heiress' bedroom with her sleeping right next to you. You, a common street thug. You don't find anything wrong with that?"

 _'Heiress? The fuck does that mean?'_ Natsu thought. It sounded fancy, and he knew Lucy hated all of the fancy nicknames she got, so he decided he'd get mad for her, since he didn't want to wake her up. He kept his voice low, both to be quiet and to intimidate Jake. "She don't seem to find anything wrong with it. What's it to you, anyway? You wanna sleep with her instead?"

Jake's cheeks flushed so fast it was like he'd been turned upside down. "Wh—No! No! No, of course not, that's not what I meant at all by that, I was just saying—" He went on for a good long while rambling, and Natsu tuned him out. Lucy had shifted slightly, probably because of the noise. Natsu looked up and shushed Jake mid-sentence, and he looked offended that Natsu had dared to do such a thing.

Natsu put his fingers against his lips for good measure, and Jake's face reddened even more.

"You know what, Salamander, I almost didn't do this; it's going to break her heart." Natsu froze at that. "But you're such a pain in the ass that I don't care about either of you anymore. You'll both get what's coming to you now." He turned and walked down the hall angrily, and Natsu scoffed at the threat. He was only a little worried, as leaving immediately after threatening someone didn't exactly make him quake in his bandages. He wiggled down closer to the floor so Lucy's head wouldn't fall off his shoulder and went back to looking for—

Heavy footsteps stormed down the hall and into the room almost before Natsu could react. Almost. He leapt up quickly when a man dressed in dark blue came charging at him, cracking his fist across the man's face. He felt the cheekbone crunch satisfyingly under his knuckles, a sick sense of glee filling his head. The man thumped down to the ground half a second later, and Natsu spun to get the second—

Lucy moaned behind him, and he realized he'd jumped up so fast she was left to fall to the floor. He cursed and turned to check on her, but a heavy weight cracked against his head, and that split second of shock allowed four big hands to push him to the ground. He struggled immediately, but they pinned his arms to the ground as soon as they got him down. He cursed and bucked his torso, but they smashed his face into the wood floor, stopping any effective movements on his part. He swore once again; his head was angled so that he couldn't even see if Lucy was okay.

A scream ripped through the air from her direction, though, and he went back to writhing even harder. _'Please be okay, please be okay,'_ he prayed as he strained every muscle in his body to escape the hold these cops had on him. He heard her voice talking to someone, but he couldn't hear her words; it wasn't to him. He was to busy trying to stop these damn blue shirts from dragging him out the door. He'd be damned if he left her here with that Jake guy.

He heard her again, clearer this time. "Jacob, please…" Natsu flinched at the tone of her voice; it was high, and desperate. As if this was her fault. His jaw jumped. Here he was, causing her more problems, just like he had been for months. He was getting taken down by the measly cops and leave her here without—

"No, Ms. Heartfilia. That monster is going to get what's coming to him."

The fight left Natsu's body, that word ringing in his ears. _"Monster."_ Would he ever remember that, when it all boiled down, that's all he was? He wouldn't be doing Lucy a favor by beating these guys down. What would come after? Another kidnapping, weeks away from her home? Just to satisfy his own selfish need to be happy? There was no way she would be content to hide out with him again, in his dirty hole in the wall of a bedroom at the pub, battling drunken fools and watching him beat down arrogant men into bloody pulps. That wasn't her world— it shouldn't be a world at all, she had shown him that. Yet it was the one he belonged to, and one he should never have let her stay in for so long.

She should have never stayed with _him_ for so long.

His head was yanked up suddenly, forcing him to stare directly into the face of a man he had never seen before. He was older than Don, in a nice suit that brought up memories of Joel trying to teach him how to pickpocket the rich morons that came to the pub for Scotch. But what Natsu liked about this man was that he was angry. Angry was something he could understand.

"I asked you a question, boy." The man's voice was low, and almost familiar. Like a niggling memory that Natsu couldn't remember. But he wasn't going to be treated like some animal. Monster he was used to, at least; animal was just rude.

So he spit on his shiny loafers.

The man looked shocked, straightening at the offense. Natsu cracked a smile at him. There was at least one thing happening that made him happy.

Lucy's soft laugh next to him brought him out of his self-loathing just a little, and he realized that he'd been so caught up in himself that he hadn't noticed she was right next to him, clinging to the arm of one of his handlers. He figured she'd been trying to help him, and he'd been too stupid to catch it. _'Damn it,—_

Her laugh died abruptly, and Natsu caught her straighten immediately. The man was staring at her, eyes boring angrily into her suddenly fearful face. She was looking at the floor, and Natsu had never seen her so spiritless in all his time knowing her. Her fists were clenched, and she was shaking as he spoke to her. And as Natsu listened, he realized who this man was.

He started struggling immediately. He was not going to let Jude Heartfilia go after anything else he loved. Hands grabbed at him, struggling to stop his writhing. But he wasn't going to stop. Whether he made it out of this room with his freedom or not didn't matter to him anymore. As long as Lucy was out of this hellhole for good, he would go down. And so would her ass of a father.

"…No Lucky Lucy Heartfilia is going to behave this way, do you understand me?" Jude forced Lucy's head up to look at him, and she stuttered out a broken response that snapped what little control Natsu had on himself.

"Hey," he growled, locking eyes with Lucy's father. Both Heartfilias looked over at him, fear overtaking both of their faces. But the Salamander was no stranger to that look; not even from Lucy. She took a step back from him, but Jude stayed rooted to the floor, staring at him as if he were Death himself.

And honestly, he would be if these cops slackened their grips a fraction of an inch.

"She's not your Lucky Lucy Heartfilia," he ground out, trying to keep from exploding. Liquid rage flowed through his veins at the pure fear that Lucy held in her eyes at the mere presence of her father. He knew that some bad blood existed between the two, but he had never pushed Lucy to tell him about it. But he had never guessed it was this bad for her. He tried to shrug out of the cops' hands once more, but decided saying what he needed to was more important at the moment. Beating down these cops would do no good right now. He could even end up hurting Lucy in this state. "Stop treating her like a—"

His head was yanked backward suddenly, fingers forcing themselves into his mouth and down his throat. He gagged and felt something slide down his throat. He swore. _'It must be a sedative,'_ he realized. Don had given him more than one during his childhood when he'd gotten too far out of hand. From the immediate fuzziness he felt, it was a pretty strong one. He started tugging on his arms again, trying to get out of that room before he was too far gone. He could hear Don's voice, _"Run, Salamander. You get out of there and never look ba—"_

Everything went black.


End file.
